Streamlining 100,000 civil servants: Difficult to avoid "lobbying" if management is lax

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan said that the figure of 100,000 civil servants subject to staff reduction is only an estimate and the agency drafting the Decree has also anticipated negative phenomena such as favoritism, favoritism or "lobbying", which distorts policies.

According to the Draft Decree on streamlining payroll prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs, soliciting opinions and preparing to submit to the Government, it is expected that after 6 years from 2014 to 2020, about 100,000 people will be streamlined with a total implementation cost of 8,000 billion VND, of which 80% will be resolved by early retirement and 20% will be resolved by resignation.

Regarding this draft, at the program "People and Government" jointly produced by Vietnam News Agency Television and the Government Electronic Information Portal last weekend, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan said that this streamlining of staff is not an arbitrary number that cannot be achieved. The goal is to improve the efficiency of civil servants and ensure the professionalism of public service activities.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan.

Dear Deputy Minister, public opinion is concerned about the number of 100,000 subjects according to the plan that will be streamlined from now until 2020. Can the Deputy Minister elaborate on this number?

The number 100,000 is not the target number of this staff streamlining policy. Implementing Decision 1557 of the Prime Minister on continuing to promote public service reform, the staff streamlining policy is one of the contents and solutions to contribute to improving the staff of civil servants, aiming to build a professional, responsible, dynamic, transparent and effective public service.

This policy of streamlining the payroll is aimed at reviewing, evaluating, and reclassifying the civil servant team and removing from public service those who do not meet job requirements or do not meet requirements during the performance of their duties, in order to continue to innovate the selection method, and bring into the civil servant team those who meet the requirements, have the qualities, qualifications, and abilities to be able to complete the assigned work well, in order to serve the people better and better.

We also offer many solutions, one of which is for those who do not meet the civil service requirements for early retirement.

The number 100,000 may be a calculation by some experts in the drafting committee: if this solution is implemented, the estimated number of people who will retire early is 100,000 people. That is only the initial number of the first draft.

Currently, the Draft has been sent to local ministries and branches for comments and posted on the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs to solicit public opinions. The Ministry of Home Affairs always hopes to receive many comments from ministries, branches, localities and the people so that it can study and absorb them to complete the draft to ensure that policies related to streamlining the payroll when issued by the Government will be feasible and put into practice.

Dear Deputy Minister, regarding feasibility, public opinion is also concerned that in the implementation process, there may be negative aspects and obstacles that may hinder the streamlining of staff such as "lobbying" or favoritism, or even binding mechanisms that make it difficult to streamline staff. What is the Deputy Minister's opinion?

I think it is normal for public opinion to be concerned. Because in the implementation of any policy, if we loosen management, loosen supervision, especially if the responsibility of those implementing this policy is not promoted, then there will certainly be negative phenomena and manifestations such as "lobbying" or causing the policy of streamlining the payroll to not achieve the set goals, not reach the right subjects, and not ensure the requirements of the policy of streamlining the payroll.

Therefore, when implementing this policy, the organization of implementation and the participation of the entire political organization under the leadership of the Party Committee are very important conditions, especially the responsibility of the heads of agencies, units, ministries, branches and localities must be greatly enhanced. If the responsibility is fully promoted with high political determination, the policy of streamlining the payroll can achieve the set goal of improving the quality of the contingent of civil servants and public employees.

That requires determination and objectivity, impartiality, and fairness in classification, review, and evaluation to be able to identify a list of cadres, civil servants, and public employees who do not meet public service requirements and put them on the payroll streamlining policy.

Those who do good work, are dedicated, devoted, responsible, and serve the people must be protected and encouraged.

The targets of staff reduction are mainly in ministries, branches and localities. If the implementation is not good, public opinion is also concerned that although the plan is set out like that, the results will not be as expected. Can the Deputy Minister elaborate on this?

If we want to achieve the expected results, the leadership of Party Committees at all levels, the participation of the entire political system, especially the quality of the heads of agencies, those assigned the authority to implement this policy of streamlining the payroll in local ministries and branches must be highly appreciated.

Regarding feasibility, when drafting the Decree, we also had to work with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office, the Central Organizing Committee and other relevant agencies to research and assess the impact of this policy, on that basis, to perfect the policy contents in the Draft.

When the Decree is issued by the Government, there must be training conferences to unify awareness, viewpoints and have political determination to carry out this task well.

Another activity that cannot be ignored in streamlining the payroll is the inspection, supervision and monitoring by the people of the agencies and organizations to ensure that there are no negative manifestations such as bias, favoritism or lobbying, distorting the policy. If these things can be done, the feasibility and effectiveness of the payroll streamlining policy will be realized.

This will be one of the positive solutions in addition to the current solutions such as implementing job placement, organizing civil servant recruitment exams to ensure the principles of objectivity, fairness, and quality (applying online exams to recruitment exams), promotion exams, selecting new leaders at the department, agency, and division levels, improving discipline in public service activities, etc. In addition to these solutions, streamlining the payroll will be a positive solution to effectively contribute to improving the quality of civil servants.

Thank you, Deputy Minister!